E-learning as tool to feed the world

Abstract

Hunger is still an issue in the developing world. The eradication of hunger could be achieved by a combination of education and agriculture. This combination can be fulfilled by implementing e-learning in sustainable agriculture in developing countries. But the conditions of e-learning are not yet distinctly defined. This thesis researches the conditions under which e-learning contributes to sustainable agriculture in developing countries. The conditions are determined through a literature research. An analysis of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) documents shows the contribution of e-learning to sustainable agriculture in developing countries. The FAO represents this contribution as it is the key organisation in sustainable agriculture in developing countries. The found conditions for e-learning are: presence of ICT infrastructure, prompt response to problems, interaction among students, fair interaction (regarding women and the poor), the ability to use ICT and the ability to use internet. The findings are submissive to some weaknesses, such as the high level of interpretation and the limited scientific literature provided. Follow-up research could make a distinction between the important social conditions and the important technical conditions (infrastructure) of e-learning. Social conditions, for example the duration of a course, could have an influence on the effectivity of an e-learning course.